Variadic arguments

 

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Allows a function to accept any number of arguments.

Indicated by the parameter of the form ... which must appear last in the parameter-list of a function declaration.

Where syntactically correct, , ... may be replaced by ....

// the function delared as follows
int printx(const char* fmt, ...);
// may be called with one or more arguments:
printx("hello world");
printx("a=%d b=%d", a, b);
 
int printx(const char* fmt...); // same as above (comma is optional)
int printy(..., const char* fmt); // error: ... must be the last
int printz(...); // valid, but the arguments cannot be accessed portably

Note: this is different from a function parameter pack expansion, which is indicated by an ellipsis that is a part of a parameter declarator, rather than an ellipsis that appears as a parameter on its own. Both parameter pack expansion and the ellipsis parameter may appear in the declaration of a function template, as in the case of std::is_function.

Default conversions

When a variadic function is called, after lvalue-to-rvalue, array-to-pointer, and function-to-pointer conversions, each argument that is a part of the variable argument list undergoes additional conversions known as default argument promotions:

• std::nullptr_t is converted to void*
• float arguments are converted to double as in floating-point promotion
• bool, char, short, and unscoped enumerations are converted to int or wider integer types as in integer promotion

Only arithmetic, enumeration, pointer, pointer to member, and class type arguments are allowed.

Within the body of a function that uses variadic arguments, the values of these arguments may be accessed using the <cstdarg> library facilities:

Defined in header <cstdarg>
va_start	enables access to variadic function arguments (function macro)
va_arg	accesses the next variadic function argument (function macro)
va_copy (C++11)	makes a copy of the variadic function arguments (function macro)
va_end	ends traversal of the variadic function arguments (function macro)
va_list	holds the information needed by va_start, va_arg, va_end, and va_copy (class)

Alternatives

• Variadic templates can also be used to create functions that take variable number of arguments. They are often the better choice because they do not impose restrictions on the types of the arguments, do not perform integral and floating-point promotions, and are type safe. (since C++11)
• If all variable arguments share a common type, a std::initializer_list provides a convenient mechanism (albeit with a different syntax) for accessing variable arguments.

Notes

In the C programming language, at least one named parameter must appear before the ellipsis parameter, so printz(...); is not valid.